Ello, ello, Hope. Happy New year of the (sneaky) Snake sign!!🧧🎍🧨

I’ve just read your recent email letter (dated January 24, 2025) and have some comments about the article: Using Your Pseudonym, by Alex J. Coyne.

What I want to share: it is totally fine to get paid in the pseudonym and it can easily be sent to the bank without waiting for a check reissue. How? By having a business bank account that includes your business name, or in this case a person’s pseudonym is also a DBA.

As an artist/creator I became a member of the Screen Actors Guild in1998 and a stage name was offered. Since China Rose reflects a childhood nickname with a fun backstory I choose that. Oddly enough no one else had ever used that name in the history of the Screen Actors Guild. Which has a centurion history for it’s union members. SAG (now SAG-AFTRA) will not allow one actor or actress to use the same name. Once it’s used the system won’t let anyone else take it unless I was to release it. So I got lucky in my mind, I thought yes, Kismet! But almost immediately something else happened.

Not long after in 1999 I created a designer product (lucky bamboo bouquet) that went out to all the Trader Joe’s stores and more. To do that I had to have a company name. So I used my pseudonym. It was an instant sensation (a story for another time) and now lucky bamboo (though I’m no longer producing my designs) is available in most floral departments everywhere.

These two events lead me to immediately set up a bank account in the registered business name that matched my stage name (which is a pseudonym). Over the years I too have received payment in my Pseudonym, often (thank you Money Gods). Too many wonderful dollars to count!! Arts in all forms are a boom and bust lifestyle from my personal experiences. So getting a check is always manna.

Which is no problem at-all since my business bank account has both names on the account. My bank uses both my legal name and a DBA which is China Rose so funds fly right in as they are received. My business bank account costs me $20 a month and it makes receiving funds very easy. It’s one of my favorite things in the whole world of stuff.

In this Snake year of 2025 I’m still publishing and producing works of art and writing on my blog. If all goes as planned… one day not long from now I will publish a book. And plan to use the life-long nickname, turned pseudonym that is mine. And I love that I can be paid in either my legal name or my pseudonym.

And your article alerted me to this fact that once used (for published manuscripts) it’s yours so I better hurry up and get that done.

Long winding explainer, I know, but I wanted to share this useful information about a check paid in a pseudonym. That way anyone who might want to forgo the angst of getting a check reissued can prepare ahead by having a bank account that reflects the pseudonym as a DBA.

Okay that’s it for now. Keep sending your amazing remarks that help writers and creators hone their craft and publish their works and get out there to beat the drum about it!!

Peace out!

China Rose